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“All week we based our training around how to stop Traore and Hutton was terrific.

“He rolled his sleeves up like I knew he would so.

“I have probably picked Hutton more than anyone else in my time at the club.

“He is out of contract but I have not had any time to have a discussion with him because we all don’t know what is happening at the end of the season.”

Bruce called on Hutton to do the same next time out in the second leg.

“He will have to do the same on Tuesday,” said Bruce.

“They’re dangerous on the counter-attack, with Traore in particular.

“You are always wary of them because they have very good players.

“That is why they are in the play-offs.

“Under Tony you always know what you are going to get.

“He has done a very good job and I am expecting another tough game on Tuesday night.

“They have players with pace who can hurt you on the counter attack.

“We will have to guard against that.

“But we are at home, at Villa Park. Let’s hope we can take that advantage up to Tuesday.”

The clash is far from over, admitted Bruce, too.

“It is still in the melting pot.

“We beat Wolves 4-1 and then lost to QPR on the Tuesday night.

“It can happen.

“How we recover is going to be crucial.”

Tony Pulis

Tony Pulis has lamented his side’s shoddy defending from a set-piece as Aston Villa placed one foot firmly on the Wembley turf.

Villa manager Steve Bruce drafted powerful Aussie Mile Jedinak into his midfield to combat Boro’s set-piece threat – but he ended up notching the decisive goal as Boro were uncharacteristically undone from a corner.

And Pulis - who prides his own coaching credentials on corners, free-kicks and long throw-ins - was left to rue an untimely error.

In a very brief post-match press conference, Pulis said: “We’re disappointed. I thought we did enough not to lose the game today.

“The set play is a disappointment; we’re disappointed to lose off that. Villa are in the ascendancy in the tie, we can’t hide that fact. We’re going to Villa Park in front of a full house.

Traore, a former Villa player, rarely threatened as the claret and blues doubled up to ensure he didn’t run riot.

Bruce revealed post-match how Hutton had been drilled on the task awaiting him all week during training and challenged him to do it again in Tuesday’s second leg.

But Pulis wasn’t concerned by Traore’s lack of impact. He said: “There were times today where Adama had good patches and good spells. He’s a terrific player and he’s got a terrific talent and on his day he can do things.

“We had other players who played well today and that (Hutton's man-marking) is due to Adama’s rise to fame more than anything.”

Steve Bruce said before this clash that his plan was to remain in the tie.

Well how about taking a 1-0 lead back to Villa Park then?

That will go down as well as the pints that were drowned by those in the away end after Mile Jedinak’s winner in this play-off semi-final first leg.

The Australian put Villa ahead on 15 minutes as he thundered a header into the far corner from man-of-the-match Jack Grealish’s corner.

Dreadful defending from Ryan Shotton allowed him in and Villa almost doubled their lead soon after.

This time it was Albert Adomah crossing for Robert Snodgrass but his header flew over the bar.

Britt Assombalonga proved to be a nuisance for the Villa backline as he was allowed three opportunities to score - the last one a header that he should have converted.

But he couldn’t find his range and what followed was almost even worst for the hosts.

When Snodgrass opened up his body and curled an effort towards the bottom corner at the other end, Villa were almost home and dry by half-time.

But Darren Randolph tipped his effort onto the post and the wonder save Kept the hosts in it.

In the second half Boro pushed and probed, but they just couldn’t test Sam Johnstone.

The only sour note of the evening was seeing Ahmed Elmohamady hobble off with a hamstring injury ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at Villa Park.

The claret and blues are now halfway to Wembley, though, and will regroup ahead of the midweek return.

Gregg Evans was in Middlesbrough. Here are his player ratings:

PLAYER RATINGS

STARTING FORMATION

4-4-1-1

JOHNSTONE, 7

Joined up the with the group late after becoming a father yesterday and was focused and reliable. One slip almost allowed Shotton in but apart from that he was comfortable and in control.

ELMOHAMADY, 7

Just solid and reliable isn’t he? Stuck to the defensive plan, offered cover to the centre-halves and rarely made a mistake. Even did well at left-back when Hutton followed Adama. What was worrying was seeing him depart with a hamstring injury late on.

CHESTER, 7.5

Showed Tony Pulis that he can play at centre-half as he battled away to keep a vital shutout. Consistent and reliable as always.

TERRY, 7.5

Maintained his consistent level of performance with vital interceptions, blocks and guidance. Took a few knocks, too, most notably late on, but stuck at it.

HUTTON, 8.5

Man-marked Adama out of the game and followed him even when he switched to the left. Almost headed through his own net in the first-half but apart from that he was solid. Put his body on the line, won plenty of headers and taught the tricky winger a lesson.

SNODGRASS, 7.5

Had two big chances in the first half - one he headed over the bar, the second required a wonder-save from Randolph to tip onto the post. Didn’t cause too many other problems but didn’t half look fired-up. Just what you need from your big players.

JEDINAK, 8.5

Introduced back into the team because of his experience. Defended resolutely and won so many important headers - the most vital of them all for the winning goal which he planted perfectly into the far corner.

HOURIHANE, 7

Set the scene early on with a crunching tackle and got his foot in on so many occasions. Didn’t do too much going forward but played his part in this crucial win.

ADOMAH, 7

Started brightly and looked fired up to make an impact against his former club. But on too many occasions his crosses were wayward and he didn’t have the desired effect. Subbed.

GREALISH, 9

Turned up on the big occasion when he was needed. Mixed up his game with grit, determination and strength as well as a touch of class and that vital ingredient of carrying the ball out of dangerous areas. Set up Jedinak’s goal and has created more opportunities than any of his Villa team-mates in 2018.

GRABBAN, 7

Caused plenty of problems for Gibson who couldn’t handle his movement but he never got a sight at goal during his 80 minutes on the pitch. Subbed.

SUBSTITUTES

KODJIA (for Adomah, 70), 6.5 - Had a tussle with Shotton but we’re still waiting to see the best out of him.